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Saturday, October 09, 2004

Comics in the News -- Week of 10/3/04

Comic Book Artist Recreates Ancient RomeOctober 8, 2004
Rome, Italy
French comic book artist Gilles Chaillet has recreated the city of Rome in 314 AD on a 11 ft. by 6.5 ft. map. He first thought of the project when he was nine, and now after 5,000 hours at the drawing board and 3,000 hours of coloring, the map is completed. He has also published a book to accompany the map titled "Inside the Rome of the Caesars."
Read the full Associated Press story from the Tallahassee Democrat.

Korean Comic Books Broaden Inroads to Germany, FranceOctober 8, 2004
Seoul, South Korea
Comic book publishers have launched a major promotion campaign in Germany and France to attract a larger European audience. This campaign includes a special section for South Korean comics at the Frankfurt Book Fair 2004 and a four-day road show to large bookstores across Germany and France.
Read the full story from The Korea Times.

FunMail Announces Peanuts Comics for the First Time on Mobile PhonesOctober 7, 2004
Pleasanton, California
FunMail and United Media just completed a licensing deal for FunMail to produce and distribute Peanuts for fans on the go. FunMail's Peanuts Comics are a "best of" anthology that allows a new strip to be downloaded each day for a monthly subscription fee.
Read the full story from Yahoo! Finance.

Nashua Grad is Drawn to His ArtOctober 7, 2004
Nashua, New Hampshire
Rich Woodall returns to his hometown for a comic convention where he will be signing copies of his comic Johnny Raygun. This article is a nice local paper interview with Woodall.
Read the full story from The Telegraph.

The Greatest Canadian Cliffhanger EverOctober 6, 2004Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
Dan Brown of the CBC wonders what ever happened to Captain Canuck and revisits the Canadian hero's history. He also talks to Captain Canuck creator Richard Comely and touches on the upcoming new series.
Read the full story from CBC News.

Comic Books Interest Reluctant Readers at Middle SchoolOctober 5, 2004
Mattoon, Illinois
This article spotlights a middle school program using comics and graphic novels spanning different genres to help teach reading skills as well as connections to history and other school subjects. The article also puts out a call for donations of graphic novels. My favorite quote is "'The State of Illinois has really pushed to have graphic novels in schools by offering grants to libraries.'" Nice.
Read the full story from the Journal Gazette and Times-Courier.

A Comedic EffortOctober 5, 2004
Austin Texas
A spotlight on Brad Neely and his underground comic "Creased Comics." Neely began the series in 1996; and his single-panel comics will be compiled into an anthology to be published in January 2005 from Lime Publishing.
Read the full story from The Daily Texan.

Spinning New TalesOctober 4, 2004
Cleveland, Ohio
An interview with Allan Heinberg, writer on "The O.C." who is making the leap from television to comics writing. The article also takes a look at other writers who have followed the same route, such as Jeph Loeb, Paul Dini, and Brad Meltzer.
Read the full story from The Plain Dealer.